ASEAN strengthens digital cooperation with Dialogue Partners and international organizations.

The ASEAN Digital Ministers Meeting (ADGMIN) and the ASEAN Senior Digital Officials Meeting (ADGSOM) are among the specialized cooperation mechanisms that attract the most active and widespread participation from Dialogue Partners and international organizations within ASEAN.

Currently, ASEAN Digital Cooperation, through the ADGMIN and ADGSOM mechanisms, has established formal cooperation with 6 ministerial-level partners and 10 senior official-level partners, while continuing to receive numerous proposals for cooperation from potential partners, demonstrating the attractiveness and increasing importance of the ASEAN Digital Agenda.

ASEAN promotes cooperation in building a sustainable and inclusive digital ecosystem.

The Conference adopted the 2026 Digital Cooperation and Work Plans between ASEAN and its Partners, thereby identifying priority areas, action directions, and specific coordination mechanisms to promote substantive, effective, and mutually beneficial cooperation, in line with the goals and pillars of the ASEAN Digital Master Plan 2030 (ADM 2030).

With regard to China, the Conference noted the important directions in the Chairman's Statement of the 28th China-ASEAN Summit (October 2025), emphasizing enhanced ASEAN-China cooperation in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) and promoting the implementation of the Joint Statement on building a sustainable and inclusive digital ecosystem.

The Conference highly appreciated the progress made in ASEAN-China digital economic cooperation, the ASEAN-China Digital Work Plan 2025, the initiatives to establish the ASEAN-China AI Industry Innovation Center and the ASEAN-China Digital Academy, as well as the development of common guidelines related to cross-border data flows, and adopted the Cooperation Action Plan for the period 2026-2030, focusing on digital policy, infrastructure, open source, security and digital trust.

With regard to Japan, the Conference appreciated the positive progress in the implementation of the ASEAN-Japan Digital Work Plan 2025 and welcomed the Digital Work Plan 2026, focusing on four priority areas including AI and digital policy, cybersecurity, digital infrastructure and digital transformation, as well as cooperation and coordination.

The conference also acknowledged the strengthening of ASEAN-Japan cooperation in the field of AI and adopted the ASEAN-Japan Digital Ministers' Joint Statement on promoting safe, secure and trustworthy AI, with a focus on AI governance, infrastructure development, capacity building, co-creation of solutions, promoting inclusive AI and strengthening digital solidarity.

With regard to South Korea, the Conference highly appreciated South Korea's commitment to promoting digital cooperation with ASEAN and acknowledged the effective implementation of the ASEAN-Korea Digital Work Plan 2025, particularly the completion of the ASEAN Cybersecurity Shield Project and the progress of the ASEAN-Korea Digital Innovation Key Projects (KADIF).

The conference welcomed the ASEAN-Korea Digital Work Plan 2026, which continues to implement KADIF projects aimed at building an AI platform, enhancing human resource capacity, and promoting AI applications, and expressed expectations for enhanced cooperation on AI safety and regional cybersecurity.

The Conference acknowledged and appreciated ASEAN-India cooperation in promoting digital transformation, including the Joint Statement, the results of the 2025 Work Plan, the 2026 Digital Work Plan focusing on information and communication technology (ICT) training and capacity building, and the operation of the ASEAN-India Fund for the Digital Future.

The conference welcomed the progress of ASEAN-US cooperation during the 2023-2025 period, noting priorities in AI, cybersecurity, digital infrastructure, combating online fraud, and support for the ASEAN Framework Agreement on the Digital Economy (DEFA). It also cited specific collaborative activities such as the 6th ASEAN-US Cybersecurity Policy Dialogue (October 2025), the ASEAN Workshop on Public-Private Partnerships for Fraud Prevention in Bangkok (August 2025), and the technology workshop in Singapore (September 2025) organized by Google in collaboration with the US Mission to ASEAN.

The conference also adopted the ASEAN-US Digital Work Plan 2026, building on these priorities to enhance public-private cooperation, regional coordination, and unlock the potential of AI.

The conference acknowledged Russia's support, highlighted the role of digital technology in socio-economic development, priority areas of cooperation under the ADM 2025 and the ASEAN-Russia Strategic Partnership, and welcomed the ASEAN-Russia Digital Work Plan 2026 focusing on AI, e-government, digital economy and regional digital integration.

The Conference welcomed enhanced ASEAN-EU (EU) cooperation, acknowledging the EU's support for the 2025 Digital Work Plan, including contributions to the first ASEAN AI Summit, the ASEAN-UNESCO Forum on Digital Governance, and Global Gateway projects such as SCOPE-Trade and SCOPE-Digital; and also welcomed the 2026 ASEAN-EU Digital Work Plan with its focus on secure connectivity, AI governance, digital platforms, online fraud prevention, digital standards and trade, and shared Earth observation.

The Conference appreciated the support of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) for ASEAN in the implementation of ADM 2025, including cooperation with WSIS, GovStack, emerging technologies such as 5G and AI standards, strengthening the resilience of submarine cables and supporting digital transformation for Member States; and welcomed ASEAN's participation in the "AI for Good" platform, the outcomes of the ASEAN-ITU Priority Cooperation Area 2024-2026, encouraged the development of a cooperation framework for the period 2027-2030 in line with ADM 2030, and adopted the ASEAN-ITU Digital Work Plan 2026.

The Conference highly appreciated the support of the Asia-Pacific Telecommunication Alliance (APT) for ASEAN through cooperative activities, especially online training and dialogue; acknowledged the APT Strategic Plan 2024-2026 and the APT Tokyo Declaration 2025 as being in line with ASEAN's digital orientation; and welcomed enhanced cooperation and the adoption of the ASEAN-APT Digital Work Plan 2026 to promote the development of ICT and the digital economy in the region.

The Conference welcomed the first ADGSOM Consultative Session with the World Bank Group (WB) and expressed its desire to build a long-term partnership to support inclusive, reliable, and resilient digital transformation; and adopted the ASEAN-WB Digital Work Plan 2026 to promote digital transformation and infrastructure, develop an inclusive digital economy, interoperable digital identity, facilitate cross-border data flows, cooperate on AI, and enhance regional capacity, including a legal framework for satellites.

The 7th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Digitalization and related meetings are scheduled to be held in Bandar Seri Begawan (Brunei Darussalam) in January 2027.

The 6th ADGMIN Meeting concluded with the adoption of the Hanoi Declaration on ASEAN Digital Cooperation, affirming that cybersecurity, innovation, and inclusiveness are pillars of a sustainable digital future, and establishing ADM 2030 as the central framework for promoting ASEAN's digital cooperation with international partners.

Center for Science and Technology Communication, Department of International Cooperation

Source: https://mst.gov.vn/asean-tang-cuong-hop-tac-so-voi-cac-doi-tac-doi-thoai-va-cac-to-chuc-quoc-te-19726011622321669.htm